Citizenship and Sustainability

Overview

We efficiently connect people and businesses with innovative and sustainable products and services. Every day, we're challenging ourselves to find new ways to help the world communicate efficiently, sustainably and safely.

The Power of ICT

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) delivers some of the world's most advanced technological innovations — from cell phones and the Internet to satellite communications — that change the way we live, work and play. Today, ICT products and services have the potential to help create a more sustainable future, enabling people and businesses to make more energy-efficient choices and reduce their own environmental impact, through things like:

• Moving work to people rather than people to work.
• Connecting rather than traveling.
• Managing business remotely and in real time.
• Improving transportation and distribution systems.

AT&T products and services align business needs with environmental needs. That's why we've welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with government, policymakers, businesses and other stakeholders to explore and develop new approaches that will help address rising energy costs and carbon emissions.

We hope to accelerate the pace of change by taking an active part in initiatives and strategic alliances aimed at encouraging the use of ICT for greater energy savings and efficiency.

Global e-Sustainability Initiative
AT&T participates in the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI), an effort to foster open cooperation across international boundaries to improve sustainability in our own industry and to promote ICT solutions as a way for others to decrease CO₂ emissions.

In 2008, AT&T helped sponsor the U.S. Addendum to the GeSI sponsored study, entitled SMART 2020: Enabling the Low Carbon Economy in the Information Age. The study estimated that ICT-enabled solutions could cut annual CO2 emissions in the U.S. by up to 22 percent in 2020. This translates to gross energy and fuel savings of as much as $240 billion annually.

Digital Energy Solutions Campaign
As a member of Digital Energy Solutions Campaign (DESC) — a coalition of technology companies and environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working to educate policymakers about the role of ICT in our shift to a low-carbon economy — we're collaborating on public policies that encourage businesses, utility companies and communities to use ICT to address energy challenges. Our ultimate goal is to use technology to improve energy efficiency while decreasing CO₂ emissions — all while promoting a strong economy.

Offering Assistance to the EPA
In late 2008, AT&T offered assistance to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of its process to evaluate provisions of the Clean Air Act related to greenhouse gas regulation. In our filing with the EPA, we advised federal regulators on the potential for AT&T — and the ICT industry at large — to help limit emissions while expanding the potential for economic growth.

Delivering Environmental Sustainability Through ICT Solutions

Our nationwide broadband, communications and data management services allow our customers to be more efficient and productive, while doing their part for the environment.

Working Smarter
Unified Communications (UC) is quickly becoming essential for business customers coping with competition, a challenging economy and increasing energy costs. With AT&T UC solutions — audio, video and Web conferencing — our customers can reduce energy costs associated with travel, while improving business outcomes in a more sustainable manner.

The AT&T Telepresence Solution is a great example. It combines innovative video, audio and interactive elements to create a unique, virtual presence over the network — giving users an immersive, “in-person experience.” Launched in 2008, it combines Cisco TelePresence equipment with AT&T's IP network and Virtual Private Network (VPN) capabilities and enables companies to collaborate and conduct global business across industries. It delivers life-size images via full-HD video and spatial audio within a specially designed environment — creating the experience of being in the same room with remote participants, whether they are down the street or on the other side of the world.

Driving Smarter
AT&T provides businesses with the ability to actively manage their vehicles, enhance workforce utilization, provide better service, and reduce miles driven and fuel consumption.

AT&T offers leading fleet management solutions, such as TeleNav Vehicle Tracker, Xora GPS TimeTrack, Webtech Wireless Quadrant and Trimble Geomanager from AT&T. We can also deliver dozens of partner solutions from AT&T business alliance members. These vehicle-based products combine the latest advances in GPS, wireless and Web technologies to make mobile workforce and fleet management an affordable reality for businesses of all sizes. An embedded GPS modem in each vehicle allows enterprises to view the status of their entire fleet in near real-time on a secure, password protected web command console, helping to improve control and ensure driver compliance.

Operating Smarter
A number of our data solutions enable customers to significantly reduce their physical servers, power and cooling needs. In some cases, they also allow them to close existing data centers. Just a few examples include:

AT&T's Server Virtualization product provides customers with a dedicated managed virtual infrastructure consisting of servers, storage and network located in AT&T's Internet Data Centers. By relying on us for centralized and virtual computing, our customers have been able to remove aging servers and, in some cases, close data center facilities.

AT&T Synaptic Hosting® provides business customers with control over the storage, distribution and retrieval of their data from any location, anytime, using any Web-enabled device. It is a good solution for customers facing a server hardware technology refresh, where the servers are five to eight years old or where available space in their existing data center poses a challenge.

Smarter Energy Grids
Smart energy grids allow for two-way communication between the energy provider and the home or business. AT&T is helping modernize the nation's electric grid by combining the same broadband and wireless communication technology we use to connect people with their world every day with additional virtual networking and security features. Smart grids depend on secure, two-way communications between virtually all devices producing, distributing and consuming electricity.

AT&T has teamed up with two companies over the past year to provide this two-way connectivity:

• Itron OpenWay® Solution: allows utilities to read electric meters remotely, ensuring more accurate billing and efficient use of energy.
• SmartSynch Solution®: relying on AT&T's wireless spectrum, uses point-to-point configuration to serve residential customers — AT&T provides a direct link from smart meter to the utility using a SIM card in every smart meter, just like a cell phone.

Delivering Sustainability Through Accessibility

At AT&T, accessibility is more than a word. It's a commitment — a commitment to provide the products and services our customers with disabilities need and to anticipate and meet their communication needs.

We work with vendors and AT&T's Advisory Panel on Access and Aging (AAPAA) on accessibility solutions, and we provide specialized customer care for those with disabilities. We're committed to helping all AT&T customers communicate everywhere they live and work.

We deliver a number of solutions that keep our customers with vision, hearing, mobility, or speech limitations connected.

AT&T encourages application developers and handset manufacturers to consider the needs of seniors and customers with disabilities when designing innovative products and services by following Universal Design Principles. In fact, we made our Universal Design methodology available on our Web site, hoping to increase the number of innovative and accessible products and services for these customers.

We stay close to the needs of customers with disabilities through the AT&T AAPAA. Made up of prominent national leaders of organizations focused on aging consumers and consumers with disabilities, the AAPAA meets quarterly with business unit leaders to provide counsel on issues related to products and services, marketing, customer relations and the employment of these individuals. Read more about the AAPAA.

Empowering and Protecting Our Customers

Promoting Online and Driving Safety
As the nation's largest broadband provider and a leading wireless provider, we consider it our responsibility to create a safe environment for all consumers. We focus on educating and empowering our customers to use technology wisely.

Some examples of our efforts include:

• AT&T Smart Limits: Parental controls are vital in safeguarding families, while tips on the latest safety issues help raise awareness. AT&T Smart Limits brings together information concerning parental control features across AT&T's wireless, home phone, Internet and TV services. Learn more about the consumer safety information we provide on each of our services, click here.
• Driving Safety: Be Safe, Be Sensible is our public safety campaign that encourages driving safety and wireless courtesy.
• Connecting with Communities: We collaborate with multiple nonprofit organizations to promote Internet safety through studies and education programs for customers of all ages, especially youth and seniors. We have current relationships with Project Online Safety, Family Online Safety Institute, Enough Is Enough, Internet Keep Safe Coalition (IKeepSafe) and OASIS.

Protecting Privacy
AT&T takes customer privacy very seriously. Our customers told us they want to see clear, easy-to-read information about our privacy commitments and policies. We listened, and we made our privacy policies easier to find and easier to read.

Our privacy commitments are fundamental to the way we do business every day. To learn more about our privacy commitments or to read the AT&T privacy policy, click here.

Our Product Stewardship

AT&T focuses on meeting our customers' needs while reducing unnecessary waste associated with our products and services. We aim to consume less and help our customers dispose of our products in sustainable ways.

Cell Phone Recycling
To keep cell phones out of landfills, we provide recycling collection points for any brand of cell phones, PDAs and other accessories at AT&T-operated stores and participating authorized dealer stores across the country. We also collect phones through employees, retirees, resellers and an exchange-by-mail handset warranty program. And we're a proud member of the EPA's Plug-In To eCycling program.

In 2008, we reused or recycled an estimated 4.5 million phones and more than 1.3 million pounds of accessories and batteries, showing an increase from 2007 of 15 percent for phones and 43 percent for accessories.

To learn how you can recycle your cell phone or accessories, please click here.

Directory Recycling
We actively work to reduce the environmental impact of our paper sourcing, production and distribution, and we promote the recycling of AT&T Real Yellow Pages and AT&T Real White Pages directories. In 2008, we sponsored and managed more than 50 recycling drives across the country.

We also require our suppliers to practice renewable, sustainable resource management of the forests they use, including the identification and protection of forestry areas of high conservation value.

AT&T Real Yellow Pages directories are recyclable. The phone book paper is made from recycled paper waste and wood fiber waste. Recycled phone books can be made into useful products such as animal bedding, home insulation, bathroom tissue, cereal boxes, roofing shingles and new phone books.

To learn where you can recycle your outdated phone books, please click here.

Paperless Billing and Mailing Practices
We're educating our customers about the environmental benefits of choosing electronic payment options, using sites such as www.att.com/actgreen. Customers can pay their bills in seconds, maintain more up-to-date control over their accounts and reduce unnecessary paper.

By the end of 2008, more than 8.2 million of our customers had suppressed their paper bills for a variety of our products, including landline phone service, broadband, wireless service and our cutting-edge video service, AT&T U-verse^SM TV. We estimate that this saved 200 million pieces of paper last year.

To learn about electronic payment options, please click here.

ENERGY STAR Efficient Set-Top Boxes
AT&T U-verse^SM TV was the first video service provider to receive the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ENERGY STAR certification for set-top boxes. Every AT&T U-verse TV receiver is ENERGY STAR certified and meets or exceeds the ENERGY STAR efficiency requirements.